Saving Danvers
by corikane
Summary: A routine mission at the DEO has gone terribly wrong and now Alex, Hank and two other agents are locked in a room with a dead alien who's possibly poisoned them all. Kara has to save them and desperately needs the help of someone who knows her aliens. (No copyright infringement intended.)
1. Chapter 1

The further down you went at DEO headquarters the cooler it got. Since some of the holding cells needed very special climate specifications, the halls were meant to level these out. Alex got goosebumps all over her naked arms. She was headed toward a cell holding a very special specimen, one they needed to subdue without weapons. Tricky business, but of course fascinating for the scientist in her.

Supergirl was coming toward them, Alex suspected she'd been visiting her mother hologram - a morning routine with her sister.

"Hey, Alex." Kara was smiling at her.

"Hey, you." Alex had no time to chat, she was keeping up with three of her colleagues, one of them Hank who carried a rope, the others cattle prods. "Can we talk later? Have a coffee break?"

"Sure, is this about... the other day?"

Alex turned while still walking. "Yeah, nothing big just... stuff on my mind."

"Text me," Kara answered waving as she also resumed her way.

Alex, meanwhile, took a deep breath, rubbing her arms. 'Stuff on her mind,' was right. 'Nothing big,' ah, that was a fib. It was major, at least for her. The feelings she was having were so new and exciting and frightening, and she really needed to talk to her sister about them. But the thought of talking to Kara about herself added a certain degree of panic to all those other feelings. And not because she didn't think Kara wouldn't still love her, certainly not that... she was rambling.

 _Concentrate, Alex._

Yes, Kara would understand. She was her sister, she loved her. No need for nervousness.

 _On the job, Alex. Concentrate on the job,_ she called herself to order as they were stopping in front of the cell.

Hank looked at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Let's bring him into interrogation."

"It's not a he, it's an it. This particular species doesn't have genders."

"Right, it. Let's bring it to interrogation. Remember, everyone, not to cut it. It's got vicious defense mechanisms we've only heard rumors of. Extreme caution." She was looking at the two agents with them, Lopez and Henderson, and they nodded.

"All right, let's go in." Hank typed in his code at the key pad and the doors opened. They stepped into the room with the round cell at its core.

Besides being an extrodinary specimen, this alien was also extraordinarily ugly. It's skin color could only be described as puke green with random purple dots. While it held a humanoid form, with arms and legs, it had tentacles growing from its upper body. There were nine eyes (one had been permanently shut at the crash landing of Fort Rozz on Earth) looking at them now, blinking simultaneously.

"Good morning, Bel'Rah. We'll be taking you to interrogation and I urge you not to resist. My colleagues are carrying cattle prods and they will use them. I'd rather they didn't have to, but it's up to you," Hank informed it. He was waiting for the alien to answer or give any sign that it had understood and was maybe agreeing. It was protocol, though Bel'Rah had said little since it had been here and less of it was in a language that Alex understood. But it had talked to Hank, or rather J'onn, at one point and understood English.

Bel'Rah stood and lowered its head. It put its hand together in front of its body. Hank seemed to see this as a sign and gave Alex the sign to open the cell. She stepped up to the keypad and entered the code. The door to the cell opened.

And Bel'Rah surged forward at Lopez, slamming into her so hard she flew through the air and crashed against a wall. Henderson went at it with his cattle prod, but missed his target. Hank shifted into J'onn momentarily as he and Alex rushed toward Bel'Rah. It didn't have anywhere to go, really, as the door to the room was shut and needed another code to open. But Bel'Rah was strong and fast enough to kill them all and it seemed it was willing to do that.

It gave a roar as it surged forward at Alex. She dugged under its fist, but a tentacle burned her skin before she could jump back.

"Argh, fuck!"

J'onn struck Bel'Rah, but it was far from subdued. It faced J'onn and one of its tentacles grabbed Lopez' cattle prod from the ground, attacking J'onn with it. Henderson, in turn, zapped Bel'Rah. It roared again, this time in pain, but didn't let itself get distracted from J'onn. It knew he was its strongest oponent.

J'onn had dropped the rope as he'd shifted and Alex was now rushing over to get it. She looped it like a lasso, swinging it over her head. She and Kara had spent some holidays at a ranch her uncle owned. Time to put some of those roping lessons to good use.

She was circling the three others, looking for an opening. Henderson kept surging forward, shocking Bel'Rah with his prod while J'onn evaded the other prod and looked for an opening of his own to tackle the other alien. But Bel'Rah was too fast and shocked him, then he turned on Henderson.

"Henderson, watch out!" Alex cried out.

But in a split second, Bel'Rah had shocked him and was surging forward, its tentacles burning the agents arms and neck. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor.

Alex let go of the loop, throwing it perfectly over Bel'Rah's body. She pulled it tight, running toward J'onn who helped her pulling the alien from Henderson. He was screaming in pain, but was pulling himself up. Something gleamed in his hand - a knife.

"No, Henderson, no!" Alex yelled, but it was too late.

Henderson jumped forward, cutting deeply into one of Bel'Rah's tentacles. Blood started pouring out and with it a gas. Alex let go of the rope, running toward the door and the keypad. She smasked her elbow into a security glass and pushed the red botton underneath. A siren blared, red light pulsed inside the room which was instantly sealed airtight.

Bel'Rah had sunken to the floor, bleeding profusely from its one wound, but still eliciting the gas. Henderson had rolled away from it, staying clear of the blood which was black and looked poisonous.

J'onn was just turning into Hank again before he went over to check on Lopez who was still unconscious, lying near the wall she'd been thrown into.

Agents appeared outside the doors. They were carrying guns, of course, but they couldn't really help. Alex was stepping toward the door, looking for Kara, and sure enough, the agents made way for her.

"Alex, what happened?"

"Henderson cut it. There's gas, probably poisonous," Alex answered, already feeling out of breath. But it wasn't the poison, at least, she didn't think so. It was panic. It crawled over her like a slimy sustance and she saw it reflected in Kara's eyes.

"No! I get you out of there!" Kara was going for the door.

"No, Kara! This poison might kill everybody in the building if you open the door. Don't!"

"But... Alex..." Kara's eyes searched hers as they both realized that Supergirl couldn't save Alex. Not with her strength anyway.

"Let me think," Alex asked. "I'm... we need an antidote. Go to your mom, your mom's hologram. Ask her about the Palkopeans, any cures for their poison. Go."

"But... Alex..."

"Kara, I need you to find me an antidote. Go. I'm okay right now, so is Hank." She looked over to him. He was kneeling beside Lopez, but had secured the knife from Henderson as it stuck in his boot now.

Henderson was sitting against the wall, obviously in pain from the burns. He'd closed his eyes, she suspected that he didn't dare look at her.

Bel'Rah lay lifeless, didn't seem to be breathing anymore. While it had only suffered one wound, the condition of it's blood, whether it was very thin or flowed through his veins so rapidly, must have caused it too bleed out within minutes. Remarkable, but also very frightening. The bleeding had stopped now, there was no visible gas escaping the body either.

Alex wondered if she'd overreacted. Maybe the gas hadn't been poisonous at all? But was she really willing to take that chance? And while she just thought it, she noticed something on Henderson's face. It hadn't been burned, but there was a pustule forming on his cheeck.

Alex turned toward Kara. "You need to hurry," she told her.

Kara frowned, but she put her hand up and Alex lay hers against the door from the other side. "I'm gonna save you, Alex, I promise. All of you."

"I know, Kara. You're Supergirl, you're my hero. Go now."

Kara nodded and speeded away to get information.

Alex looked back at the agents looking in on them. "All right, I need you to seal this floor off as a quarantine zone. Get someone from medical here, I'm gonna need some help with Henderson and Lopez. And call in the entire science devision and experts on known alien poisons." She lifted her hand to scratch at her neck, but the feel of her own skin there made her pause. It was a pustule, like the one she'd seen form on Henderson's face.

 _Fuck._

As she looked back at her fellow agents, they were staring wide-eyed at her. "Those were all orders, so you better get cracking!" she bellowed at them.

It roused them and they got busy following her orders.

Alex turned toward Hank. "This is bad, Hank."

He nodded. "I know. Let's just save our strength for now. Get the first aid kit, Lopez bumped her head pretty bad."

Alex nodded, walking toward the hidden medical supply kit that would need to keep them alive for however long this would take.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I kinda forgot the note yesterday, 'cause I was excited to post the first part. Hi, I'm Kane and this is my first Supergirl fanfic. I already got some friendly reviews, thank you, but I wanted to introduce myself to this new fandom - new to me. I don't know how long this story is gonna be or how regularly I'll be able to update (probably more throughout November since it's NaNoWriMo). But I'm already enjoying the story, so I guess I'm stuck with it for now. Glad to be here. Hope you like my story.**

* * *

"Okay, lie still, Lopez. You got a head injury and I've to take a look?"

Lopez nodded her head once, but then closed her eyes against the pain.

Alex examined her head. There was severe swelling and she felt Lopez stiffen as she very carefully felt it. At least there was no blood.

"I'd give you a shot, but I think for now you'll have to do with aspirin. Here."

Lopez opened her eyes again and took the pill from Alex. Hank handed her a water container and she drank the pill down.

"Good. You got a bump on your head, probably a concussion. Henshaw will talk to you, keep you awake until we can be sure there's no internal bleeding," Alex explained further, but knew that they'd probably have to wait for that last part until they were out of here.

She stood. "I'll see to Henderson's burns now. You're not hurt, are you?" she addressed Hank.

He shook his head. "Only a hit and some shocks. I can't say I feel great, but I'm not injured. What about your own burn?" He pointed at her arm.

"Henderson's got it worse. I'll see to him first and then I might let you play nurse for me." She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. She was about to leave for Henderson who still sat alone near Bel'Rah's body, but Hank caught her hand. She bend down to him. "I'm okay."

"Yeah, for now, but..." He turned her arm over and for the first time she got a good look at her burn.

It was inflamed like you would expect, but there was also a crusty greenish substance building at its edges. "What the..." She touched it and it felt infected, like there was yucky goo under it. "It infected us with something. Henderson and me. This'll get a lot worse, before it gets better."

"It's not just you," Hank said. He looked over at Lopez who was lying next to him with her jacket under her head. There was a pustule on her naked arm, another on her jaw.

Alex looked back at Hank, trying to see if he got any signs of those pustules.

"My skin's not real, remember?"

"Could you shift again, so I can get a look?"

He shook his head. "Take care of Henderson first. Maybe I'll let you play nurse for me then." He smirked.

"That's what I get for being a smart-ass," she said, grinning, and rose.

Henderson seemed pretty out of it. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or... but then she heard the whimper. He was in pain and just barely keeping from crying out.

"Henderson?"

He opened his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry Alex. We're all dying because of me. I killed us all."

"We're not dead yet, agent Henderson, so you better pull yourself together. I'm not planning on dying here and I won't let you either, understood? I'm gonna look at those burns now."

"You should help the others. I'm a lost cause." He pulled his arm closer to his body to ward her off, but the movement caused him pain and he groaned.

She kneeled at his side. "When I just told you to pull yourself together it was not a suggestion, it was an order. As long as you're wearing that uniform and are still alive, you're gonna do what I say. And now I'm gonna look at those burns."

This time, when Alex reached for his arm he didn't resist her. But her touch hurt him, she could tell. His burns were far more severe than hers. Bel'Rah's tentacle had only touched her briefly, but the alien had had Henderson in its grip for about half a minute. The infection caused severe swelling of his arms and neck and it seemed to be getting worse. At this rate, he wasn't going to be able to breathe much longer.

She looked through the medical supply and found a tube of salve for burns. This wasn't the garden-kind variety of ointments as it was DEO medical supply, but Alex doubted that the people making it had the kind of burns in mind Henderson was sporting. There was also the possibility that the alien-chemistry and the salve-chemistry would react aggressively.

There was really only one way to find out if it did. Alex threw a look over at Hank, but he was talking in low tones to Lopez. He seemed to be telling her something funny, she was smiling, and Alex was surprised. She opened the tube and put a some ointment on her finger. She took a deep breath and applied it to her burn... and it felt good, cooling.

A sigh of relieve escaped her. Looking at Henderson, though, she realized that he'd probably need more than was at hand. She decided to treat his neck, since the swelling there could kill him. She applied the ointment as generously as she felt comfortable and he seemed to feel its effect momentarily.

"Is it helping?"

He nodded, his eyes closed again, his head resting against the wall.

"There's not a lot of it, so I'll just apply it on your neck."

Another nod and a sigh of relieve.

"Okay, that has to do for now. Do you have any other injuries? Did any of that blood get on you?"

Henderson opened his eyes again, they swam in tears. "No, just the burns from the tentacles... Thank you, Alex."

"Well, Hen... Phil, we'll have to sit this out for awhile. Supergirl is going to do everything she can to help us, but in the meantime, we'll have to help each other too. Why don't you come over and get some rest, or help keep Lopez awake?"

Henderson closed his eyes again, shaking his head. "I'd rather sit here by myself. At least, for a while."

"All right. If something happens, if the burns get worse, or anything, you tell me, okay?"

He nodded, but she wasn't sure if he would. She would have to keep an eye on him. She looked over at the dead alien. They should probably glean as much information from it as they could. She was about to walk over when the walkie talkie on her hip crackled.

"Alex?" It was Kara.

"Yes, Kara? What've you found?"

There was a moment of silence.

Then, "Nothing. And they won't let me to the door." There was a slight pout in her voice.

"I told them to make the whole floor a quarantine zone. Nobody's supposed to come near here, unless they wear safety gear," Alex told her.

"I can wear safety gear."

"No, I need you in your cape, doing what you do."

"But..."

"Listen, Kara. I know this is hard, okay? I would like nothing better than for you to stand outside... outside that door and talk to me, be there for me. But that won't help us. Okay? Medical is doing everything to help us and you need to give them something to work with."

"But my mom's hologram... all it had was what you already researched earlier about the Palkopeans. And you could've told me that, you know?" Another pout.

"I'm sorry, Kara, but I couldn't let you pull the door open and endanger everyone, including yourself."

Kara sighed. "I know, but I don't know what to do now. I feel useless, Alex. What can I do to help you?"

Alex had been thinking about that while helping Lopez and she had an answer. "I need you to find Maggie."

"Detective Sawyer? How's she supposed to help?"

"Well, while we catalogued aliens, she lived with them. Not... not literally, but... she knows some aliens personally and... I'm not saying, she's come across a Palkopean, but maybe she knows someone who knows someone who knows something about them? It's worth a shot, right?"

"Well, seeing that the biggest database we have on aliens doesn't have any information, it's probably our only shot."

Alex pulled her mouth into a grimace at the tone. "Wow. You sound hopeful."

"I'm sorry, I... I just love you so much."

"You stop right there. I'm not dead yet and this isn't a goodbye. Now, get out there and find some useful information. And I'm gonna do my part on this end and we'll beat this thing together like we always do."

"You're right. We got this, we always do!"

Alex nodded to herself. "That's the spirit. Go, be Supergirl. I'm gonna kick ass on this end. Oh, and Kara..."

"Yes?"

"Could you... um, could you tell Maggie... I... never mind, I'll see her when this is over and tell her myself."

"Okay. Take care. I'll be back soon... Over and out."

That last bit made Alex smile. She shook her head, then took a deep breath and turned to the others. Hank was looking up at her.

"Supergirl is on her way."

"Let's hope she'll find something to help us."

"She will. She always does."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, new chapter. I know they're not very long at this point, I'm working on that. Hope you like and thanks for the reviews.**

* * *

The place was crowded and had the accompanying smell to it. But as soon as people noticed Kara, they fell silent and stared at her. They also made way. It was a little eery, but Kara was used to this kind of behavior by now.

"Detective Sawyer?" she asked the desk sergeant as she walked by. He pointed into the crowd and Kara zoomed in on the lone figure in a corner where nobody else seemed to venture. She walked over.

"Detective?"

Maggie looked up, blinking. She seemed to have been so emerged with whatever she was reading that she only now became aware of the precinct having gone almost completely silent. Only phones were ringing now.

"Supergirl. What... what brings you here?"

"I have to talk to you. Can we go somewhere where we can speak in private?"

The detective seemed to think about her request, pulling her eyebrows together. Then she stood. "Come with me," she said, pulling her jacket from her chair.

As they walked through the crowds, she bellowed: "Would someone answer those fucking phones?"

It seemed to pull people out of their paralysis and everybody went back to work. Kara saw Maggie shake her head at her colleagues, then she followed her through a door and into the precinct's stairwell. They descended the stairs into an underground parking garage.

"Is this private enough for you?" she asked as she turned toward Kara.

"It'll do. There's been an incident at the... the D.E.O.," Kara said that last bit out of the corner of her mouth.

Maggie squinted her eyes at her. "And?"

Kara shuffled her feet. The detective sure had an intensity about her. She was very no-nonsense, but Kara failed to see what her appeal was beyond being a good cop. Alex wasn't one to make female friends easily, Kara could only remember two from high school. That she should be friends with this... brash woman was surprising.

"Do you know anything about Palkopeans?"

"Other than they're dead-ugly and highly poisonous, no."

"You wouldn't have any idea where I could find an antidote against their poison, would you?" Kara already knew what the answer would be, but she was hopeful to a fault and had to ask.

Maggie shook her head. "Will you tell me what this is about?"

"Some D.E.O. agents tried to move a Palkopean prisoner and it got cut. One of the agents sealed the room before the poison could escape, but now there are four agents locked in a room with the dead prisoner."

"Jesus, that's... wait a second. Why're you here? Why didn't Alex call... she's one of the agents," Maggie said.

Her face seemed to fall a moment then morph into a determined, hard mask. "I might know someone who could help us."

"Oh, good. I'm slowly running out of options. I've never come across a Palkopean and our data base had very little information on them."

"They're rare. As far as I know there's only one in Natio... and I guess that was your prisoner, right? Great. Maybe you guys should start gathering information BEFORE you kill those aliens?" She was angry.

"He attacked those agents, okay? The D.E.O. doesn't just kill anyone, they try to protect the city from hostile aliens."

"Well, maybe somebody should start protecting aliens from you lot!"

Kara got angry so fast, she could just barely hold herself back. She was balling her hands into fists at her side, heat flushing her whole body. "Us lot?! You seem to forget I'm an alien too. Nobody set out for this to happen and now my... Alex and Hank are trapped in a room, poisoned! Do you wanna help, or do you just want to throw blame around. Because I got more pressing things to do than listen to your... your insults."

"You were about to say 'bullshit,' weren't you?" Maggie smirked.

"Was not!" Kara answered. "So, you said there might be somebody who knew something?"

"I think you know her too. M'gann?"

"Miss Martian."

"Yes, she meets many different aliens at the bar. It's a safe haven. You wanna come?"

Kara nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Okay, so... how do we do this? Will you come with me in my car, or..."

Kara stepped up to Maggie, but the detective took a step back. "Whoa, what...?"

"Sorry, I just thought we'd fly. It would be a lot quicker."

"Quicker..." Maggie looked at her intently for a moment and Kara could only guess at what she saw. "It's bad, isn't it? Is she injured?"

"Not badly, but... I don't know anything about this poison. Who knows how quickly it works, how it even works."

"All right, let's fly then."

Kara stepped up to Maggie and put an arm around her waist.

"Just fyi, it's polite to ask a woman before you... take her out for a mid-morning flight."

"I really don't have time for this," Kara mumbled under her breath, before she pushed off and zipped through the garage and into the sunlight.

* * *

Alex was kneeling over the dead alien body, wondering what else there was to do. She'd attended alien autopsies, but for most of those procedures she lacked the right equipment. She'd collected samples of the blood and the acid-y substance on the tentacles that had burned her and Henderson's skin. She'd even found the valve in its skin where Henderson had cut through and where the gas had escaped. She'd dabbed at that with some tissue and hoped there was residue on it, though she couldn't see anything.

Now the problem was how to get these samples into the lab. The lab guys currently argued if they should send someone in or if they should...

Alex suddenly felt faint.

"Whoa, there." It was Hank, he pulled her backward and up. "You all right, Alex?"

"Yeah, probably just been kneeling too long." She shook her head.

"You almost fell into the blood. Could it have to do with your arm? We should probably do something about that." He pointed at the wound that had turned an angry purplish red.

To Alex it throbbed with the infection and she tried very hard to ignore it, knowing that there was nothing she could do at the moment. "Wish I knew what," she answered Hank.

He flinched.

She knew he was probably thinking feverishly about how to help her, but so far had come up empty.

"You should probably eat one of those granola bars from the med kit," he suggested. "Blood sugar and all that."

Alex looked at him. There was a nagging thought at the back of her brain, something she couldn't quite grasp. But then she looked around the room and at the cell in its center. "The food chute," she said.

"The..."

She didn't leave Hank time to repeat what she'd said, she walked into the cell. She kneeled in front of the bench and knocked on the front where she suspected the tiny chamber was where the prisoners extracted their food. "It's how they get their food, Hank. The food chute."

"We could use that to get things in here."

Alex looked over at where she left the samples. "And out."

"Brilliant," he said as she already grabbed for her walkie talkie.

She stood as she clicked the talk button. "Vasquez, you there?"

"No, it's me Winn. How you guys doing?"

"I need to talk to Vasquez, where is she?"

"She's in engeneering. She-"

"Listen, Winn, go get her. We may have found a way to get things in and out of here. I've got samples that need to get analyzed. And we really need some more medical supplies and water. And food, I guess. I was thinking: the food chute. We could use-"

"I was trying to tell you, that's why Vasquez went down to engeneering. She had the same idea," Winn interrupted.

"Oh, good. Okay, tell her... tell..." The room suddenly started spinning.

"Alex?"

A faint sound of running footsteps was the last thing Alex heard and then...


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm enjoying writing Supergirl and company. It's a great show and I'm happy to write for this fandom. That said, this is a little longer. I'm getting into the story now. Hope you like.**

* * *

They landed outside the bar and as soon as Kara let go of Maggie, she staggered to the side on unsteady legs. And then her lunch lurched up and lost it, her hand just barely holding onto a trash can.

"Gee, are you all right?"

Maggie felt a careful touch on her back as she was trying to pull herself together. Cold sweat had broken out on her forehead and she felt shaken. She pulled a bandana from an inside pocket of her jacket and wiped her mouth.

The hand on her back was now rubbing comforting circles. Supergirl seemed a particular kind of touchy-feely.

"I'm okay." Maggie took a step back from Supergirl, losing the contact. It hadn't necessarily been unpleasant, just weird because she didn't really know her. Also, who the hell was actually saying 'Gee' in this day and age?

"Was it something you ate?"

"No, I just hate flying. Come on, let's go inside. I need a drink."

Maggie walked over to the door and pulled it open. The very peculiar smells and sounds of the bar engulfed her instantly and she felt herself relax. She liked this place, even though she was aware that not everyone here liked her. It was still comforting.

"Why didn't you say you didn't like flying. I could've-"

"It's okay, Supergirl. If it helps getting Danvers out of trouble, it's nothing." She walked over to the bar, Supergirl always one step behind her. She'd never met an alien like that, that was for sure. Supergirl didn't exactly lack confidence, but she was strangely attached to people. And Maggie knew that this should have reassured her - after all, this was Supergirl - but it made her a little itchy.

"Hey, M'gann."

The bartender turned. "Wow, you look like shit, Sawyer." Then she noticed Supergirl. "Oh, hi."

"Hello, M'gann. We hoped we could get some information from you. About Palkopeans?"

"What about them?" M'gann asked, busying herself with wiping some glasses dry.

"Have you met any?"

"Last I checked you had Bel'Rah in custody. It was the only one I've ever met. Was a good customer, even though it talked a lot of shit."

Maggie had parked herself onto a barstool, feeling still slightly nauseous. "Could you give me a shot of something... to settle my stomach?" She now asked M'gann.

"Sure. You hung over?"

"Nah, I'm a little seasick, or planesick."

"Plane... oh, she took you for a ride?" M'gann grinned at Maggie and she just barely kept from growling at the Martian.

"Do you know anything about... Palkopean poison?"

"Only what Bel'Rah said," M'gann said and seemed to think for a moment. "It's deadly and it's excruciating."

Maggie looked over at Supergirl who now turned an unhealthy shade of white. But then she pulled her eyebrows together, forcing herself to stand up straight. If Maggie hadn't seen her slump a little, she wouldn't have believed it. A nervous uneasiness filled Maggie's stomach. If Supergirl was losing hope, was there really anything they could do for Alex?

"Do you know of an antidote, a cure?" Supergirl asked next, her voice deceivingly confident.

M'gann shook her head as she placed a shot glass in front of Maggie. The liquid inside was colorless and smelled of licorice. Maggie drank it down quickly.

"I asked Bel about that. It said that there were several, but not on this planet. Not yet, at least. It seemed positive that if there were more of its kind around, the government would probably be finding one really quick."

Supergirl nodded.

"Why're you asking ME all these questions? Shouldn't you be asking Bel'Rah?"

"There was an incident at... the D.E.O., Bel'Rah injured some of the agents and got killed."

M'gann nodded. She seemed to have expected to hear this.

"J'onn is one of the agents who got poisoned," Supergirl informed her.

Another surprise hit Maggie as she saw M'gann react to these news. She was always so... reserved, kept mostly to herself, but she seemed affected by this news. She leaned on the bar, both arms outstretched and watched Supergirl intently.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

M'gann hesitated a moment, but then she licked her lips. "If anyone knows about an antidote, it's Roulette. Bel'Rah fought for her a couple of times before you guys picked him up. I don't think she would've risked it if she hadn't a cure at hand for herself and her paying customers."

A sense of relieve flooded Maggie at the news. But, of course, they'd have to find Roulette before they could celebrate. She turned to Supergirl. "Do you know how to track her down?"

"I might, unless..." She looked at M'gann.

"I don't know where she lives. And I haven't heard from her since you broke up the fight club. I heard a rumor that she operates out of Metropolis now, but seeing as your cousin's the guardian of that city, I have my doubts."

"I think I'll talk to him, just in case." With that, Supergirl turned and walked toward the exit.

Maggie scrambled to keep up with her. "Hey, wait." She almost ran into her as Supergirl turned really fast. "What... what is your plan now?"

"Find Roulette?"

"Any leads?"

"I'm not sure. I have a friend who went to boarding school with her, maybe she knows where she lives."

Maggie nodded. "And if not?"

Supergirl didn't seem to like that question, she was frowning at Maggie.

"Listen, I... I have some contact. I'll ask around. Maybe somebody else has an antidote, maybe someone can produce one."

Supergirl nodded. "Thank you, Detective."

"Call me Sawyer, everybody does."

"I should get back. I wanna see how Alex is doing."

"Right. How can I get in touch with you?" Maggie said before Supergirl could just turn and fly off.

"Oh, right. Maybe... Alex' cell phone? The call will get patched through to me. Alex didn't have it on her when..."

Again Maggie witnessed Supergirl losing her countenance and it shook her more than the flight through the city. She reached out for the other woman, squeezing her arm. "I'm sure she's gonna be fine. Danvers is a tough chick, Supergirl. She'll be fine." She nodded and was surprised how choked up she was getting. Alex had to be all right, she just had to.

"Thanks, Det... Sawyer. I... do you have pen and paper?"

The question threw Maggie for a moment, but since Supergirl offered no explanation she simply reached inside her jacket and handed her the asked for items. They were as much part of her everyday job as her gun and shield. Supergirl scribbled something down.

"This is D.E.O. headquarters," she said, turning the notepad over for Maggie to see. "Got it?" Maggie knew the adress. It was a high tech building, very new, state of the art, which supposedly held some goverment offices. Well, apparantly that was true.

Supergirl crumbled the piece of paper, threw it in the air and incinerated it with her heat vision.

"That's a neat skill to have."

"If you find out anything, either call or come to headquarters. They'll get in touch with me."

"All right and..." She touched Supergirl's arm because she was almost up and away already. The Kryptonian turned back, her intense stare hitting Maggie and she blushed. "Tell Alex... tell her... never mind. This'll be over soon and I'll tell her myself."

Supergirl frowned. "That's pretty much what Alex said after she told me to get in touch with you."

"Really?"

Supergirl nodded. "I'll talk to you later." And then she was gone.

* * *

She thought she heard voices. Or one voice, loud and angry. Something broke. But Alex couldn't see and she couldn't... escape the darkness that surrounded her. It felt like a massive body of black tar she was swimming through. But she wasn't moving, she couldn't even blink.

There was pain behind the darkness, numbed, but not quite extinguished. It was part of her body which she couldn't really feel. Was she paralyzed? Was she maybe dead? But pain didn't correspond with either of those. And she wasn't really unconscious, rather semi-conscious. And she was floating.

Until...

Alex gasped, her upper body rising. And then she screamed because pain gripped her. There were hands pushing her down.

"Hold on," she heard Hank's voice. His face was hovering over her, blurry in her tear-stained vision.

Pressure on her arm, Hank holding her down and then... the pain lessened, got dulled. With it her mind. Things got decidedly fuzzy.

"Ha... Hank?"

"Yes, Alex, I'm here. It's gonna be all right."

Her eyes were closed and she was trying to concentrate. There was a taste in her mouth, a familiar taste. Blood. She moved her head to the side and spat.

"Water?" she asked.

A hand held up her head, but she shook it. She wasn't as weak as all that, surely. She pulled herself up on her elbows.

"Alex, you should..."

"I should sit up, J'onn," she said and did. The pain was still dulled, but it seemed insistent, eating away at her. She took a sip of water from the canister Hank handed her. "What's happened?" She blinked a couple of times and her vision wasn't as fuzzy as before. But Hank's face looked greenish, and it wasn't his Martian face. She recognized pain in him.

"You blacked out. They sent some medical supplies, I gave you a pain killer."

It was the worst status report she's ever received from him. Alex looked around. Lopez leaned against the wall, her face seemed covered with those repulsive pustules now. Her pallor was the same as Hank's and Alex suspected that she didn't look any better herself.

Then she looked over to where Henderson had sat before. But he wasn't sitting there anymore. There was only a black... something. There was blood, there was... "Henderson?"

"He... didn't make it," Hank said.

Alex opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She wanted to scream, she wanted to get up and check on Henderson, but she wasn't even able to do that. "What happened?"

"Well, you fainted and I... I tried to help you and I didn't realize that Henderson was starting to bleed... well, goo came out of his arms and then blood and... I tried to help him as soon as I realized what was going on, but it was too late. I told medical what I needed to help you and they sent it through the food chute."

Alex lifted her arm and looked at what had been a burn before. There was a bandage on it.

"I had to cut it open, drain the goo."

Alex touched at the bandage and hissed. It was still inflamed and she really didn't want to see it, but she had to. She was losing the bandage, even though Hank told her not to. The sight of her own arm almost made her throw up. It looked like a gash, angry, infected. And it was throbbing.

"There's going to be more goo," she said and left the bandage off. "We'll probably have to drain it again."

Alex leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes against nausea and a rising panic. The first time since Henderson had cut Bel'Rah, she thought that she might die here. She took a deep breath, fighting the thoughts, fighting the panic.

"Has Kara touched base?"

"Yes, she has. She's trying to find Roulette. Bel'Rah fought for her a couple of times and M'gann thought she might have an antidote."

Alex nodded. "Is Maggie still with her?"

"No, Kara said she wanted to call on some contacts, just in case. Everybody's doing everything to help us."

"Have you sent the samples to the lab?"

"Yes. I also sent them some of the goo and blood samples from all of us."

Alex looked at Hank. "How're you feeling?"

He shrugged. "Not too bad."

"Liar," Alex said, but she gave him a smile for effort. She lifted her arm and touched his face. "Show me."

Hank looked uncomfortable, but a moment later he shifted into his Martian self.

Alex blinked her eyes because at first she thought there was something wrong with them. J'onn's skin had turned a dark gray, it was cold to her touch and slightly slimy. His alien skin reacted very differently to the poison.

"I look like shit, I know."

"I... what is happening to us?"

J'onn shook his head. "I think we're dying. Slowly."

"Painfully," Alex added.

"Yeah, but... we're not dead yet." J'onn shifted back into Hank and it was a relieve. Seeing the usually strong and healthy Martian getting drained of both made Alex's heart ache.

And that was just what she needed, more heart ache. Alex closed her eyes, her mouth pulled upwards, but she had the feeling it wasn't quite a smile. Life was so strange, and cruel.

"Hey, you with me?" Hank asked, apprehension in his voice.

She opened her eyes again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you."

"It was pretty scary when you just... left."

"It felt pretty scary too. I was slightly conscious, heard noises, but couldn't reemerge."

Hank nodded. "But that wasn't where you just went?"

Alex shook her head. "I thought..." And suddenly there were tears. They just started flowing and they felt hot on her face. She dabbed at them with her fingers, but feeling her own skin didn't really make it better since it was covered with pustules, some of them had already cracked open.

Hank sat down beside her against the wall. He tried suppressing a groan, but she knew he was in pain.

"Have you had a painkiller yet?"

"No, I'm good."

"You're making a habit of lying to me now?"

He sighed. "Sorry, I just..."

"They can send up more, you know that. Come on... time for your shot," Alex said.

He gave in which was scary because he didn't fight her more on it. The pain had to be intolerable for him to let her poke him with a needle.

As they once again leaned back against the wall, Hank took Alex' hand in his. "Why were you crying earlier? Or is that too personal a question?"

She looked over at him. His eyes were a little glassy, but he seemed better. There was very little pain now, for both of them.

"I don't think there can be anything too personal between us, do you?"

"I can think of a few things, so it's okay if you don't wanna tell me."

"No, I... I just thought I'd be telling Kara first. I wanted to tell her today, but... it's not like it really matters now. I... might've missed my chance."

"Don't talk like that, Alex. We're gonna get out of here alive. Supergirl will see to it." But there was no conviction behind the words, no strength.

"I just wish, I wish she was here right now."

"She'll be back soon."

Alex shook her head. "Not Kara, Maggie. I mean, Kara too, but... Maggie." The name left Alex's mouth as a sigh.

"Sounds like you're quite taken with the detective."

Alex merely nodded. There wasn't even any anxiety in her anymore, about coming out. It felt like they were talking about the weather. Those pain killers sure did their job.

"She's amazing, like..." Alex couldn't help but smile. "She acts all tough, but has this easy smile, you know. It's completely captivating. And she's a total nerd for Star Wars. And when she laughs... it's the best sound in world, J'onn. Her laugh is magic. And I'm sooo... I... I can't stop thinking about her. She's so beautiful."

"For a human?" Hank chuckled.

Alex didn't even know why she joined in. "For a human. For an alien. For anyone, anywhere. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever met."

"You're in love, Alex Danvers."

Alex sighed. "Yeah. And now I'm covered in yuck and ugly and won't ever have a chance with her." New tears formed in her eyes and she didn't care enough to stop them.

"She's a fool if she doesn't love you back. Even with all those ugly pustules, you're still Alex Danvers, Alex."

Alex squeezed Hank's hand. "You're my second favorite alien, J'onn, that'll never change."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I realized the other day, that Maggie had already been at HQ and that there was no reason for Kara to give her the address. If you noticed, 10 points to your house. I'll change this and possible other mistakes on my next edit run through. So if you find anything you feel needs addressing, just message me or put it in the comments, thanks. Now, next chapter, enjoy.**

* * *

For a moment, Kara wondered what Lena Luthor would think of her just coming in through her balcony doors. She seemed to make a habit of bursting in on her, but then she reminded herself that Lena didn't know she was Kara so it was probably okay.

It had to be somehow okay because she didn't have time for formalities. This was about Alex, this was about saving her life. And the life of Hank and agent Lopez. It was bad enough, they lost Henderson as Winn had just informed her over her earpiece.

Kara landed on the balcony. Looking inside through the windows she ascertained that Lena was in her office. But she was talking on the phone. Kara bit her lip, contemplating what to do. There was really only one course of action and so she knocked at the glass door.

Lena stiffened, then turned in her chair. Her blue eyes softened on recognizing her.

"I'll have to call you back," she said to whoever was on the phone, Kara could read it on her lips. She disconnected the call with the pencil she was holding and then came to open the door for Kara.

"Supergirl, this is a surprise."

"I'm sorry to just barge in on you, but it's... an emergency."

Lena looked her up and down. "This sounds serious and you look... worried."

"I am. My... my friend Alex, Kara's sister, she was poisoned on the job. I'm trying to find an antidote. Someone told me that Roulette might have some of it and I'm looking for her."

"I'm so sorry about your... friend. Agent Danvers saved my life, so if there's anything L Corp. can do... lab equipment. I'm sorry, we don't really have our own lab, we manufacture mechanical devices."

"I know, I just thought... because you and Roulette went to boarding school together..."

Lena's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, you thought... no, I'm sorry, I don't know where she lives or could be right now."

Kara had thought that this might be the answer, but she still wasn't prepared for it. She felt it grab her by the throat, taking prescious air from her. She turned away from Lena.

"I'm sorry, Supergirl. Can I get you something? Do you need to sit down?"

Kara shook her head. "Can you think of anything, someone who might know where she could be?"

"Hmmm, I think... maybe. Let me check something on my computer." Lena went back inside.

To Kara, it felt like hours that Lena just sat at her desk, writing, then making a call. She just barely kept herself from listening in on those conversations, but Lena was obviously doing everything she could to help and she wasn't going to be rude. When Lena finally stood and came toward her, she was smiling.

Hope was a strong drug and right now it flooded Kara's body. A smile was hope. Lena joined her on the balcony, a slip of paper in her hand.

"This isn't Veronica's address, sorry, but it's the name of a friend who's been in contact with her. I haven't got an address for you, but I figured you'd have people who can find out?"

"Yes, yes, I do have... people. Thank you, Lena. That was a great help." She felt like hugging Lena, but held back. Instead, she took her hand for a moment, squeezing it.

"I hope it'll help. Do you think I should call Kara? She must be beside herself."

"Erm, you probably won't reach her. She's at the hospital, you know, no cell phones at hospitals."

"Right. If you see her, tell her I'm rooting for her sister."

"When I get her the antidote, I'll tell her you helped me get it."

Lena smiled and it looked to Kara like her cheeks got a little rosier. But maybe that was just the lighting.

"I have to go now. Thank you again."

"Let me know if I can do anything else."

"I will." Kara pushed herself off the balcony and into the air. She was soaring at high speed, glad she'd made a friend of Lena Luthor and wondering at what Clarke would think of it.

* * *

The alley smelled like rotting food, but last night's rain had at least washed the pavement clean from nastier stuff. Maggie was walking confidently around the crates and dumpsters, making it look like she was searching for something or someone. She was aware, though, of someone following her every step. And this someone was her real target.

Maggie remembered one stormy night when she'd been called to a crime scene when she was still walking the beat in Metropolis. She and her colleagues in blue were just there to keep the onlookers at bay, interviewing potential witnesses, looking for clues outside the closed off perimeter of the crime scene. She'd been relatively new to the force and as a rookie got assigned the worst jobs, so she was looking through much the same scene as now, ten years later in National City. Only at night, in a storm, with only her flashlight to illuminate the darkest corners of the city.

She'd heard... no, if she was really honest, the only things she'd heard were rain and thunder, but she'd sensed a presence. She'd looked behind her often, nervously pushing her hat out of her eyes to see better. But there'd been no one. And than something fell on the visor of her hat. At first, she thought it was a particularly big raindrop, but as it landed in front of her feet, she saw that it was part of a finger. Startled, she'd stepped back then looked up. There, on the fire escape above her had sat the first alien she'd ever encountered, and it was eating away at their victim's arm.

Back then, nobody seemed to believe what she'd seen and she learned to keep silent about the other aliens she would encounter after that night. She'd learned to use this hidden part of the world, the alien part, for information, even for refuge sometimes. Most of them were ordinary space travellers, some were criminals, and some just followed their alien instincts in the new world they discovered and would then leave again. For some, Earth was a food supplier, like the one she'd encountered that stormy night, like the one she was looking for now.

And she already knew it was there, above her, sitting on the ledge of the building she was standing next to, two stories up, watching her. Maggie paused, then looked around herself and sighed. She turned back to where she'd come from, to where the alley would lead onto a livelier street.

And this was when it launched itself toward her. Maggie rolled to the side, unfolding her baton. The alien landed hard on the pavement, not having expected a trap. But Maggie surged forward and hit it in the knee, then quickly pushed her arm under it's arm, lifting it. It wasn't big and it wasn't heavy. What this creature had on humans was speed and strength and Maggie had only one shot at pinning it to the wall, her elbow at its throat.

She hit it with her baton. "Hold still," she told it. "I just got some questions."

It hissed at her, but the struggling ceased. She didn't losen her grip, though. She knew if given the chance it would still try to eat her.

"I didn't do it, whatever it is, Detective."

"I'm not here about whatever you've done, not this time. I asked some folks and heard you've partnered up with Bel'Rah about a year ago?"

"Before the Blacks got it," it hissed.

 _The Blacks_ , Maggie thought. It was probably talking about the D.E.O. agents, wearing all black on their secret ops. _Those guys really need to work on their image._

"Yeah, well, the Blacks killed it."

Now it struggled again, it seemed either repulsed or sad, Maggie couldn't tell.

"That's right. I know some of the Blacks, I could tell them about you and they'd come at night to hunt you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a killer," Maggie said, her own voice turning into a hiss.

"I haven't killed humans for a decade. I eat already dead flesh, I eat dead homeless, sometimes victims of accidents or crimes."

Maggie knew this, of course. She may not have the equipment the D.E.O. had, but she did some monitoring of her own. "Or victims of aliens you can piggy-back off, like Bel'Rah?"

It hissed some more, but its struggle was superficial. It stuck its tongue out now and licked her face. She knew it was trying to gross her out and she hit it with her baton again.

"You taste sweet."

"Thanks. Now, I want to know everything you know about Bel'Rah, pay special attention to its poison and an antidote."

"What's in it for me?"

Maggie smiled. "I won't tell my friends, the Blacks, where to find you. That is, if you keep on being a good alien, an alien that doesn't kill."

Another lick of its tongue and it started talking.

* * *

It was the absence of sound that woke her, that made her realize she'd fallen asleep. She'd had a dream, but she couldn't remember what it was anymore, only that it had been peaceful. But her life wasn't peaceful and she'd known that it was an illusion.

And then Alex jerked awake.

J'onn's hand was still holding hers, but she had no concept of time of how long she'd slept. She didn't know if he'd fallen asleep as well. The room seemed too bright, it hurt her eyes.

Closing them again wasn't an option. She couldn't sleep away what little time she had left, even if she'd never been this tired. There were things left undone, unsaid.

Alex reached for the walkie talkie which lay next to her.

"Winn, you there?" she asked into it.

"Yes, yes, I'm here."

"Have I caught you watching porn again, Winn?"

Silence answered her and she started chuckling.

"Did you know that you're my least favorite Danvers, Alex?"

"People've been telling me that all my life, Winn, it's not news. Kara's not around, is she?"

"As it happens, she's with Mon-El at the moment. You wanna talk to her, I can patch her through," Winn offered.

Alex was blinking a little irritated. Was she still dreaming? Was this not a life-or-death situation anymore? Why was Kara not searching for a cure? Mon-El? What priority did he have? Or did he have information that she wasn't aware of?

"Alex?"

"Yes, patch me through, please."

A moment the line went silent.

"Alex?" Kara sounded breathless.

"Are you..." Her voice sounded scratchy and she tried to clear it. But as she started coughing, she realized it wasn't just her voice. Her whole neck felt scratchy and she just kept coughing. And it hurt.

"Alex?" Kara sounded worried.

Phlegm filled Alex mouth, but the taste was something else, and as she spat she saw that there was blood in it, too much blood.

"Talk to me, Alex," Kara again.

"Yeah, sorry. I... I think the poison attacks the lungs. If we don't get an antidote, we're gonna drown in our blood."

Alex looked over at J'onn. He must have shifted while she slept. He looked back at her, blinking. She could tell he was in pain, his breath was shallow. She looked past him to Lopez who lay on her side, heaving breaths.

"We need more... oxygen."

"I get it to you."

"No, we can't risk you, Kara. But we need someone to come in here, because... I have no strength. Send someone."

She heard Kara moving, the she yelled at someone. She actually yelled at someone.

"Kara?"

"Yes, Alex?"

"Leave my agents alone. They're doing what they can," she told her.

And Kara apologized to whoever she'd yelled at. Alex had to smile.

"Could you... I wanna talk to you alone. I have to tell you something."

"If this is about..." Kara started, but then stopped. She continued softer. "If you're trying to say goodbye, I'm not having it."

"No, this is... about something else. I need you to know."

"All right."

The line went quiet for some time, then Alex heard Kara turn off her mother's hologram.

"I'm here."

Alex closed her eyes. She tried taking a deep breath, but it made her cough. Her breath got raspy, but she talked past it. "You were with Maggie earlier?"

"Yes, we were at the bar. M'gann told us that Roulette would probably have the antidote, but we can't find her. A lead Lena gave me didn't pan out. I don't know what else to do, Alex."

"It's okay. I'm sure you did everything you could."

"I was just talking to Mon-El. Daxamites aren't generally well-read, but they travel a lot. I thought maybe..."

"Kara."

"Sorry, I-"

"You did everything you could, Kara." Breathing was getting harder, but a look toward the door confirmed that they were about to open it. They needed to be sure everything was sealed and secured first, but they were going to bring them oxygen. They would still be here for awhile. Alex smiled humorlessly. There would be more pain to endure yet.

"I can't give up, Alex."

"I'm not telling you to. I know you're still working on it, in your head. So is everyone else." Alex closed her eyes again. "That wasn't why I asked about Maggie."

"Oh, I... what about Sawyer?"

It made Alex smile hearing her sister call her by her last name. Like cops did. Like agents did. "She's still out?"

"Yes, she wanted to ask around her sources, see if she would be able to find something."

"Okay. I'd like to talk to her when she... calls or comes it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Kara, this is important to me. I need to talk to her."

There was a pause, Alex could almost see her sister furrow her brows in puzzlement. "I need to tell her how I feel."

"How you feel?"

"For her," Alex said.

A hand on her arm prevented her from saying more. An oxygen mask was pressed to her face. For a moment, the fresh air she inhaled burned so badly it brought tears to her eyes, but then it felt better.

"Alex?"

"Supergirl, we're treating agent Danvers right now. This needs to wait, whatever it is."

"But..."

Even though the oxygen felt so good, Alex pulled the mask from her mouth.

"Agent..."

"Give me that." She pulled the walkie talkie from the medic's hand. "Kara?"

"Alex, you need to listen-"

"No, you need to listen. I need to say this, even if it's just once. You listening?"

"Yes, I'm listening."

Alex pressed the oxygen mask back on her face for a deep pull, then another. It really did feel good, but she needed to tell Kara so she let the mask drop again. "I have feelings for Maggie. Feelings like I've never had before. And..." Her eyes filled with tears. "I need for her to know. And I need for you to know because... even if... I'm never going to live these feelings, they're still a part of me. And I've been overwhelmed by them these past days. I've finally fallen... in love... with a woman."

She heard Kara sob. "I'm... so happy for you, Alex."

Alex rubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears, but she couldn't help it. Kara understood, Kara supported. Of course, she did.

"I love you, Kara."

"No goodbyes, Alex. Put that mask on now, okay? You won't die today and you're gonna tell Maggie how you feel. I'm not letting you go."

There was new determination in Kara's voice.

"I'll talk to you later," Alex said.

"I'm proud of you," was the last thing she heard from her sister before the medic took the walkie talkie from her and put the mask back over her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: We're already nearing the end with this story, but not quite there. I'd say two more chapters. I hope you like this one. Review if you do? Thanks for reading.**

* * *

The medics had left again. It was too dangerous to stay in this toxic environement with them who were also toxic and, Alex knew, close to dying.

Her vision was blurry, she had to take out her contact lenses earlier because they burned on her eyes as the toxin slowly worked underneath it. Every movement brought unspeakable pain, every thought was with Kara, with Eliza, or Maggie.

J'onn's hand convulsed and she looked over at him, flinching because the movement was painful. His Martian skin was now almost black, glistening. He stared at her for a moment, then looked sideways, and back at her, before it shifted again. It took Alex a moment, before she understood that he wanted her to follow his eyes. When she did she saw Lopez, convulsing like a fish out of water.

Alex leaned forward just a little. The pain made her feel nauseous, or maybe that was just another effect of the poison. She swallowed, but her throat was dry and this also hurt. She was positive that when she would die it was going to be a relieve, but since she wasn't dead yet there were still things to do.

Apparently, what she needed to do now was get Lopez' oxygen mask back over her mouth because she had managed to dislodge it. It hung at her chin.

Letting go of J'onn's hand was like letting go of a lifeline. His strenght, whatever strength she thought he might still have, left her and she felt like floating. She got on all fours, dragging her oxygen tank behind her as she slowly made her way over to Lopez. Tears filled her eyes as she had to watch the agent gasp for air, eyes wide with panic.

She collapsed next to her and quickly put the mask back over her mouth. For a moment, Lopez fought, thrashing her head around. The first breath was probably burning her throat, her lungs, but then she took another and calmed down.

Alex rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, the light getting brighter.

 _Any minute now. I'm so sorry, Kara, mom. Maggie._

* * *

The concrete she sat on was cold, as was the granite pillar she leaned against. Cold and hard. Like Kara felt her heart become, like the world became cold and hard. Or why was it taking Alex from her? Why Alex? Why not... her?

She'd called on Lena again, desperate as she was, but Lena didn't have any more information to give. And she'd looked at Supergirl with pity and Kara barely made it from her balcony. But she couldn't fly, she couldn't soar, she felt broken and had dwindled down to earth, to where she sat now under the mighty L Corp tower.

Hot tears flooded her eyes, then her cheeks. Sobs shook her. She was pulling her knees up to her chest. "Alex," she moaned quietly.

"Supergirl?"

Kara looked up, the dying sun hitting her before she could focus on the small figure standing not far from her. A little girl.

She wiped her eyes as quickly as she could.

"Are you crying?" the little girl asked.

Kara tried to shake her head, she really did, but she couldn't deny what was obvious. "Yes, I am."

A pause told her that maybe she should have lied after all. She knew that she was supposed to be a role model, but she didn't know what would be worse, if she outright lied or if the girl lost faith because her hero was falling apart.

The girl answered this question by coming closer and squatting down to look into Kara's face. "Do you need a hug?"

Kara bit her lip to keep from sobbing again and shut her eyes tight. But she nodded.

The little girl put her tiny arms around her shoulders. "It'll be all right, you'll see. You can do anything, Supergirl."

For a moment, Supergirl pulled the little girl to her - not too tight. "Thank you," she said as she let go of her.

"What is wrong?" The girl sat down on the concrete beside her.

"My... friend is very ill and I can't help her."

The girl looked at her, her mouth open, her eyes wide. Now she'd done it, the girl was losing faith. What should she say to her?

"Is there nobody who can help you help her?" the little girl said, before Kara could think of anything.

"I thought... I was asking another friend for help just now, but..." Kara shook her head. "She doesn't know what to do either."

The little girl lay her hand on Kara's knee. "Then you must find somebody else," she said, as if that was the easiest, the most logical thing to do.

And maybe it was. Because sitting here and crying wasn't helping Alex, it wasn't even helping herself. It was just... wrong. She gave the little girl a smile. "You're right."

"Yeah?" The girl smiled shyly back at her.

Kara nodded. "What's your name?"

"Cara Ashley, MacKinnon Drive 1114, National City."

"Cara is a beautiful name."

The little girl smiled brighter. "Thank you, Supergirl."

Kara stood up and then held out a hand to her new friend. She took it and Kara helped her up.

"I gotta go now, but I want to thank you. You were a big help."

"I was?"

"Yeah." Kara looked up as a woman was looking around a pillar not far away, blinking in confusion as she saw them together. "Is that your mother?"

"Yeah, hey mom. I gotta go. Bye, Supergirl."

"Bye, Cara."

The little girl skipped off, turning around to wave at Supergirl who waved back.

Kara nodded at herself and pushed off. As she soared through the air, she pushed the button on her earpiece. "Winn, you there?"

"Where else would I be?"

"I need you to find Maggie Sawyer for me."

"Hold on, I call her."

There was a long silence, but no words, until she heard Winn say: "She doesn't answer her phone, but it's on. I'm pinging her GPS now."

Kara zipped quickly through the canyon of tall buildings and into a different part of the city, one with abandoned warehouses where Winn had told her Maggie'd be.

* * *

The beauty of cities was that they were constantly evolving, growing with the needs of their humans inhabitants, modern, shining. The ugliness of cities was that while some parts were growing, others were abandoned. National City's transport system, for example, had been completely overhauled by Maxwell Lord's company, but the old train yard now lay abandoned. And with it the warehouses that had formerly held the goods that had been transported to and from the city.

Into one of these warehouses, Maggie had finally found access after circling it three times. She's climbed on a dumpster to get to a rotting ladder, had cut herself as a step had broken away under her. But she'd made it to an upper window and through it onto the landing.

It was dark, of course. The fading light of the day didn't illuminate this place with it's dirty windows. Maggie pulled her flashlight from her jacket, shining it into the darkness below, but could hardly see anything. There were still crates there, open, smashed to pieces. There was dirt, there was debris.

Maggie sighed under her breath. It was the perfect place to hide and she had to hurry to find that one hiding place that would hold the cure. The Rancorr'h she'd questioned earlier had sent her here. It'd said this had been Bel'Rah's lair and if it'd had any of its own antidote it would be here.

Now she was praying to a God she didn't really believe in that it had been right and that she just needed to find it. She made her way downstairs, careful on the rusty stairs. The dark shadows made her nervous and she pulled her gun. There could be other aliens here now, the warehouses were a good hiding place for them and she hadn't even known about this place.

Standing on the hard concrete now, she shone her flashlight around. The place was huge and the hairs at the nape of her neck told her she was not alone. But she started her search, dilligent, attentive, like a cop should. But the place was just too big, there were too many shadows, too many tight spaces between crates and oil drums.

Her instincts told her to go looking in the corners farthest away from the door, to go looking for a big crate turned from the center. She went over into the corner under the stairs. There'd been a kind of office there, but the windows had been broken, and it smelled... bad. Maggie refused to think about where the smell might come from and surged forward, the sleeve of her jacket pressed to her nose and mouth.

And then she saw it. It wasn't a crate at all, it was like a wall, making the office look smaller than it was. She was looking for an opening to the fenced off space and finally started kicking at the wooden boards. She broke some, creating a small crawl space. She flicked her flashlight around the room, just to make sure there wasn't anyone or anything in her proximity and then got on all fours.

The smell got almost overwhelming. There were remains here, remains that had been walled up. But there was other stuff too. Clothes, some pictures of... naked Palkopeans? _My God, it's alien porn_ , was a thought that came unbidden to her mind. She'd never seen anything like it. It was like a prison cell, filled with personal memorabilia. Bel'Rah may have made it off Ford Rozz losing only an eye, but it had remained a prisoner because its nature was to kill.

Maggie crawled deeper into the space and finally discovered a box. It was tupperware, of all things. She opened the blue lit and inside... stoppered up test tubes with a purplish fluid. A sob of relieve dislodged itself from her throat. This had to be it, the antidote, the cure. Maggie pushed around things, tried to be as thorough as she could to make sure this was what she'd been looking for. There was nothing else and she shuffled to back out of the crawl space again.

And then something latched onto her foot, pulling her out of the tiny space. And as she tried to grab her gun more firmly, the tupperware container more firmly, she was pulled over rotting body parts and she realized that this hasn't just been Bel'Rah's cell, it had been its and the Rancorr'h's. And it was a trap.

Maggie started kicking frantically, trying to turn as it pulled her out of the office, into the open of the warehouse. She wanted to shoot it, but couldn't really see anything since she'd lost her flashlight. She kept holding on to the cure, but she knew if the Rancorr'h got a hold of it, it would destroy it.

It made slurping noises, some gurgling and if she wasn't mistaken giggled too. And it was still dragging her by one leg. She got a kick or two in, but it didn't seem hurt by them. A sharp pain sliced through her as the Rancorr'h twisted her knee and took a bite out of her calf. And then she shot. And missed.

But it had let go of her, probably retreated. But it was still there, of course. Maybe circling her.

And then it landed on her, her gun got kicked out of her hand and for a moment they struggled for the tupperware. But it scratched her hand with its long claws and she let go, screaming in pain.

And it laughed, horribly, as it pulled the box open and flung it away. Glass shattered.

Maggie gave a howl and kicked at the alien. But it was too strong, too much in control now that she could do anything but roll into a ball.

Something broke, something far away it seemed, but still crucial for her in some way. There was debris falling and the Rancorr'h hissed unhappily. And then it was bodily pulled off her, thown through the room in a blurr of red and blue.

Maggie blinked and then she saw the woman leaning over her come into focus.

"Sawyer, you okay?"

Maggie took a deep breath, nodding. "Supergirl," she breathed.

Two hands tried to ascertain if she was injured, but Maggie wasn't a fan of all that touching and she squirmed. "Please, it's just my leg. I'm fine."

And when Supergirl stopped, there seemed to be a pause. Maggie looked up at her, saw her staring at something not far off. "Is that? Was...?"

Maggie looked over and at the remnants of what had been the cure. "Yeah," she said and sighed. But she pulled her hand out of her jacket, where she'd held onto what she'd protected from the alien with her body. "Here," she put the tube into Supergirl's hand. "Now go save Alex. I think it's the cure, I can't be sure."

And Supergirl did something that almost made Maggie come apart: she sobbed. "You did it," she said, her face scrunched up as if in pain. "You did it!"

"I hope so. Now go."

"But you're hurt, I gotta take you with me."

"No, you're faster without me. And I also have to take care of that thing," Maggie said, looking darkly at the still unconscious alien. "Just call for backup, will you. I'll come in as soon as I'm finished here. Promise."

"You su-"

"Go! Alex needs this!"

The blink of an eye later, Supergirl was indeed gone and Maggie robbed over to where her gun lay, finally picking it up and aiming it at the alien. No way, it was gonna get out of here unless in a cage.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, second to last chapter, y'all. Hope you still enjoy.**

* * *

They'd cleared the halls for Kara to fly right through to the corridor where doctors were already waiting to take the antidote from her. The quarantine tent had been removed from the cell where Alex was lying, possibly dying, and the doctors just took the time to fill three syringes with the strangely smelling liquid, before they ran into the room.

"They're not wearing safety gear," Kara said, staring at some agents who were standing by, watching.

"It's okay, they sucked the contaminated air from the room earlier. It just took some time to figure out how to do that," Winn said behind her.

She turned, glad to have someone beside her who knew what she was going through. She reached out her hand and he took it, standing beside her as they both watched the doctors inject what was hopefully the cure into Alex.

Medics with stretchers arrived and all three patients were rolled to Medical, Kara following them as if attached by an invisible string. She wouldn't leave Alex' side, not until she knew the antidote worked, that Alex was all right.

For now, she had to let the medical personnel work on her sister. For now, she could only watch as they had to shock the life back into Lopez. For now, she could only pray to Rao that the blackness of J'onn's skin would turn back to green. And she held Winn's hand tightly, and she knew that she should probably let up some because she was hurting him, but he didn't tell her to so she didn't.

* * *

"Kara?" It came out as hardly more than a very raspy whisper and she saw a nurse look at her, eyebrows raised. "Supergirl?"  
she tried again, but just barely stronger.

The nurse nodded anyway and waved to somebody. Alex turned her head and the blurr of familiar red and blue made her feel so much better. And then Kara hovered over her.

"Hey."

Alex grabbed at the oxygen mask that covered her mouth and nose. "Hey." Her voice was still raspy, it hurt to talk, and clearing her throat didn't really make it better.

"You should leave that on," Kara admonished and tried to put the mask back over her face.

"No, I'm good."

"Alex, you're not good, you almost died on me."

The raw desperation in Kara's voice made Alex reconsider and she reapplied the mask herself.

"Are J'onn and Lopez gonna be okay?" Alex asked, turning her head to where they were looked after by more medical personnel.

"Yes, the doctors said they'll recover. It was touch and go there for a while with Lopez, but they brought her back." There was a short pause, before she said, "Eliza's on her way now."

Alex nodded. "Thank you," she said through the mask, though the effort to be heard through it was actually more stenuous than talking without it.

"You know she's gonna be furious that we didn't call her earlier, like the moment after it happened."

Alex had asked Kara and Winn not to inform Eliza before they had the cure. "I couldn't have her here. She would've tried to save me and she would never have forgiven herself if she'd failed to find a cure, Kara."

Kara closed her eyes. They both knew that Kara wouldn't have forgiven herself either if Alex had died. Alex squeezed her hand.

As Kara opened her eyes, tears fell from them.

"I'm okay, Kara. You saved me."

Kara shook her head. "It wasn't me."

"Of course you did. You brought the antidote."

"Yes, but Maggie was the one who found it."

Alex blinked. "Maggie?"

"Yeah, she found Bel'Rah's hideout with the cure. She saved your life."

"You both did," Alex said, but by Kara's pained face she could tell she didn't feel like a hero today. "Is... is Maggie here?"

Kara took a deep breath. "Not yet, she... she wanted to bring in another alien that attacked her. She should..."

"Attacked her?" Alex felt and actually heard her heartrate go up. The monitor she was attached to, beeped annoyingly in her ear and she turned to it. She switched the sound off.

"She's all right. I mean, she was wounded, her leg, but she wanted to stay."

Alex rolled her eyes. "That's so her."

"I wanted to bring her back here with me, I swear."

"I bet you did. Stubborn woman - her, not you," Alex clarified, but couldn't help a small smile steal onto her lips. _Damn hero_ , she thought.

Kara touched Alex's hair tentatively. "What you told me earlier, I'm glad you did. I'm really proud of you, you know. And I love you."

Alex got choked up so fast, she couldn't fight the tears that sprang to her eyes. She might've thought there was not enough fluid left in her body, but the tearducts seemed to be working just fine.

Kara leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

Alex squirmed. "Don't, my skin... it's disgusting." She tried to fend Kara off, but Kara lay her hands over hers and put them down on her stomach.

"Stop that. Nothing about you is disgusting, ever. You're sick and your skin will heal."

"Sorry, I just... it was so... it was bad and painful." Alex stopped before she could choke up again. She really didn't want to think about this, she wanted to concentrate on the fact that the cure was working, that it had saved her and the others. But it was hard to tune out what'd happened to them.

"I'm so sorry, Alex."

"It's not your fault."

"I should've thought about... I should've known about Bel'Rah's history. I should've been the one finding the cure and a lot sooner."

"Please, no, Kara. You did everything you could. Look... Look at me!"

Kara had averted her eyes as if in shame, but Alex' request made her look at her again.

"You're my hero, always, but sometimes even heroes need help. And Maggie is... she's thinking a little differently than you and I. And that's good, right?"

Kara nodded. "She seems... very capable and... she's got cute dimples."

Alex had to laugh at that, but it hurt too much and she stopped. "Two of the things I like most about her."

Kara leaned down and hugged Alex. Then she kissed her on the cheeck. "You should get more rest, sleep a little. I'll go over to J'onn, see how he's doing."

"Okay. Hey, Kara?"

Kara was about to turn away, but looked back at Alex. "Yeah?"

"I love you."

Kara smiled, it was the first one since they'd started talking and it got a little teary.

"I love you, Alex."

* * *

It took four D.E.O. agents to bring in the Rancorr'h. It was hissing and spitting, trying to claw at them. Maggie followed the prisoner's entourage, hanging from another agents shoulder. Her leg was throbbing and burning. She almost regretted not having taken Supergirl up on her offer to bring her here earlier, but then she remembered flying with her.

The moment she thought about her, the impressive figure rounded a corner and came over.

"There you are. Here, let me help you." She dismissed the agent who'd helped Maggie and took his place.

Maggie would have resisted the help, but Supergirl was smaller than the agent and also stronger and it made maneuvering with the injury easier. "How's... how're the agents?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Supergirl smirk at her. "Alex is fine, well, she's recovering. And she told me to come look for you and get you to medical ASAP."

"I'm getting the VIP treatment, nice."

"Are you kidding? You saved my friends. That's the least we all can do. A doctor will look at your leg and when they're finished, Alex would like to see you."

"Hm," Maggie made. It'd been such a long day with so many conflicting feelings. She was relieved that Alex would be all right, more than relieved: over the moon. And by the smile on Supergirl's face, she felt pretty much the same. Everybody seemed to smile at her, greet her, look at her with admiring eyes. It felt good, but nothing felt as good as knowing Alex was still alive.

And yet, she was reluctant to see Alex. She was almost fearful and she wasn't sure why.

"... and so she's sleeping right now, but the antidote is working pretty fast..." Kara was rambling.

"I'm glad she's okay," Maggie got in edgewise.

Supergirl stopped talking and looked at her profile. Maggie could pretty much feel the boring stare. Her intensity was still unnerving Maggie.

"Yeah, you guys're good friends, right?"

"Hm," Maggie made and nodded.

They were in medical now and Supergirl pretty much lifted her onto the examining chair. A doctor came over, smiled at her and then set to work on her leg.

"You seem pretty close, too," Maggie observed, only slightly nervous about the answer.

"Yeah, I mean, sure, very... we're close."

It seemed to Maggie that Supergirl was more nervous than she was. While she didn't know her very well, she'd never seen her skittish. It was weird. "So, you're close... like friends."

"Closer, I mean... well, yeah, we're friends. Or..."

The concentrated look on Supergirl's face seemed to indicate that something else was going on. Maggie felt her heart sink a little and the pain as the physician pricked her with a needle didn't even register.

"Does that mean, you're more than friends?"

"Well, I..." Supergirl was nodding.

Maggie felt like the air got sucked out of her lungs, her whole chest seemed to burn with what all this seemed to mean. She knew she should be glad. Alex was amazing and she'd just come out and if she... did it have to be Supergirl, though? Her first girlfriend. How was any woman ever going to compete with that? That was if there ever were going to be other women for Alex.

Maggie sighed.

"I guess you could say we're more like family," Supergirl now said, thoughtfully.

"Family?"

"Yeah, I mean... we're working together, of course. But I know her folks, Kara who's lovely, and Eliza, her mom... she's on her way over here now. It's just, Alex and Hank have been... so helpful, I really think of them as family. In some ways, I'm closer to them than to my cousin, you know?"

Maggie frowned. She wasn't sure how to interpret all of this. Was Supergirl just being protective of her relationship with Alex or oblivious to what Maggie was asking?

"I'm glad she's got someone to look out for her. Alex is really... she's a good person."

"Today, I'm glad I'm not the only one who looks out for her. Without you she... might not have made it."

Tears filled Supergirl's eyes and she turned away toward the other side of the medical ward where pod-like beds held the three patients.

Maggie reached out her arm and touched Supergirl's back. She seemed to shake, her arms clutched around her middle.

"I was just lucky. I guess, we all were."

"No," Supergirl said. She turned. "You're a great detective and an even better friend. Today, you're my hero." She held Maggie's hand for a moment, squeezed it.

 _Wonderful, now I'm actually starting to like her_ , Maggie thought, a little frustrated.

"Just doing my job," she murmured and saw that Supergirl was about to protest, but was thankfully interrupted by the doctor.

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to immobilize the knee. Have you had a dislocated kneecap before?"

"Yeah, once or twice. I know the drill."

"Good, though it's probably gonna be more painful because of the cuts in your calf. That Rancorr'h did a thorough job on your leg."

Maggie pulled her mouth into a grimace. Dislocated kneecap meant at least two weeks out of commission, she wasn't happy about that. "I was just lucky that Supergirl helped me out, or I would've been its dinner." She gave Supergirl an acknowledging nod.

"Seems, we were all pretty lucky today."

Maggie could only nod to this.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Last chapter. It was a pleasure to write for you. Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. I'm looking forward to next time.**

* * *

At first, Alex thought the nurse was going to take her blood pressure again. But the hand on her arm lacked medical intent as it lingered, squeezed lightly.

Alex opened her eyes, looking up at Maggie who frowned. She was looking Alex over, her eyes arrested for a moment on the bandage on the other arm. She became aware of Alex watching her.

"Danvers, you..."

"Look like shit?" Alex joked.

Maggie shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. It seemed to Alex like she was fighting emotions which made her own emotions raise their ugly heads.

 _No more crying, Alex. Not in front of Maggie, come on._

"No, you look... beautiful," Maggie told her. "Hell, Danvers, you almost died. There's nothing more... beautiful than you being alive right now."

Alex felt heat rush her face and she cleared her throat. It hurt only a little now. "Yeah, I'm sure those ugly skin lesions make me really attractive."

"Stop it, okay?" Maggie went back to looking her over, her hand still on her arm, her thumb caressing it lightly. She seemed deep in thought, frowning. She shook her head and looked around herself. She reached for a small stool and pulled it close to sit. "Supergirl said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, I..." Alex took a deep breath and pulled the oxygen mask from her face. "Could you help me with this?" She handed Maggie the mask who hung it on the oxygen tank.

"You okay without it?"

"Yeah, I think the antidote works faster than the doctors thought it would. I feel much better already. All thanks to you."

Maggie blushed and looked at her hands which were now folded in her lap. "I just did what any friend... or cop..." But she shook her head without finishing the sentence. "I'm just glad you're okay, Alex."

"Hey, you getting soft on me, Sawyer?" Alex wasn't accustomed to a flustered Maggie, a Maggie too who seemed thoughtful and very earnest.

She looked up at Alex, her eyes glassy with tears. She tried a smile. "Just a little and only for a moment, okay?"

"Maggie-"

"No, I... I almost lost you, Alex. I can't just... brush that aside and play the tough cop about it. Not with you."

Alex reached out her hand for Maggie to take. She squeezed and Maggie pulled Alex' hand to her chest. She closed her eyes. "All day long, I had this... heavy feeling in my chest. I mean, I saw Supergirl almost... she seemed to collapse with the weight of wanting to rescue you but not being able to. That was... terrifying. It showed me how bad the situation was. But now, the weight is gone, it's gone." Tears fell onto Alex's naked arm as Maggie squeezed her eyes shut.

"Maggie, I-"

"I don't know what's going on with you and Supergirl, maybe I'm too late, but... I thought I should play it cool. You've just come out, you should explore, see who's out there, but... Alex, I like you, I like you a lot." She lifted Alex' hand to her lips and kissed it.

Alex once again felt out of breath. It was a relief to know that the poison had nothing to do with it this time. As Maggie's words replayed in her mind, she blinked confusedly. "Supergirl? What would be going... OH MY GOD, NO! No, no, there's nothing going on between... just no!"

This made Maggie laugh lightly. "Because she's family?"

"Well, I mean... she... somehow, I guess."

"That's what she said, but I wasn't sure what that meant."

"It means that she and I are close but not in a romantic or sexual way." Alex made a face at the mere thought, she couldn't help herself. Talking about her sister in this way was... bizarr.

"Oh, okay. Well, that leaves you and me."

Butterflies were taking over Alex' body and she bit her lip, trying to be cool about it but, as she suspected, failing miserably. "That leaves you and me, liking each other... a lot," she confirmed and her lips broke into a wide smile.

Maggie answered with her own. She leaned forward, her hand touching Alex' hair. "May I kiss you?"

"I'm not sure," Alex said because she'd thought of something. Maggie's face fell. "No, it's just... I don't know if... maybe I'm contagious or something." She pointed at her face.

"You know, I'll take my chances," Maggie said and leaned forward. Her lips were gentle, soft and yet more insistent than Alex would've imagined. Alex' body hummed with pleasure in answer to the loving onslaught.

* * *

Epilogue

"Ms. Luthor, Ms. Danvers is here to see you" the secretary informed Lena over the intercom.

Kara had opted to go the traditional, non-stormy or flying way to enter Lena's work space for once. She smiled at the secretary who watched her like a hawk.

"Oh, send her in, send her in," Lena's voice came back.

Kara still didn't move, but waited for the secretary to point to the door and say: "You may go in now."

"Thank you."

Lena was coming toward her as she walked in. She didn't stop until she stood close and she reached for Kara's hand. "Did everything work out?"

Kara found herself smiling. "Yes, Alex and her colleagues are all right."

A laugh bubbled out of Lena and she hugged Kara. And Kara was surprised how good that felt. It was a tight hug, a short hug, and Kara felt a sense of loss when Lena pulled back.

"I'm so glad. I was sitting here wondering and I was so sorry about... not being able to help."

"You tried... we all... tried." Kara felt new tears spring to her eyes. They had rarely dried up since she'd been told that Alex was going to be all right.

"Come, sit down with me for a moment," Lena said, guiding her over to her sitting arrangement. "Can I get you something. Coffee? Tea? A scotch maybe?"

Kara shook her head. She felt stupid for showing vulnerability. She wasn't even sure why she'd come here, she could've just called Lena and given her the good news.

Lena sat down beside her, taking her hands in hers. "Is something wrong, Kara?"

"No, it's... I'm sorry, I'm a little... baffled, I guess. Usually it's Supergirl who saves the day, but... a detective with NCPD found the cure. She's Alex' friend, Maggie Sawyer."

"Well, even Supergirl can't save everybody. It's good to know that we have a capable police force, too, right?"

Kara nodded. "It's not... I mean... I'm not sure what I mean. It's been a long day. I was so worried that..." Again, Kara shook her head, but this time to ward off fresh tears. But she felt defenseless, raw.

"I know what that feels like, worrying about a sibling dying. I mean, even with Lex being who he is... I still worried about him."

For a long moment, Kara just sat, reliving those moments she felt frightened and useless.

"I'm a little surprised you came here," Lena said. "I didn't think I'd hear from you, personally. I half-expected Supergirl to bring me news, good or bad."

Kara looked up. "I wanted... to give Alex a little time with Maggie. They're... close, closer than I thought." She smiled. "Our mom's on her way, too. I just... I needed some air, time to think."

"Wanna share those thoughts?" Lena offered.

"She could've died." It was the one thought that kept running around in her head. Sure, Alex could've died on various occasions these last two years, beginning with the plane crash that had been Supergirl's first rescue. But on those occasions, Kara had never believed that she wouldn't be able to save her. And she had. But this time... she hadn't been able to.

"But she didn't, Kara. Alex is gonna be all right. That's what you said."

Kara nodded. "But what about next time? She's with the... F.B.I. She's basically in constant danger. I don't know what I'd do if..." Another wave of tears flooded her eyes and this time they were accompanied by sobs. Kara felt her insides give in and she leaned forward, letting go of Lena's hands and holding herself around the middle.

"Oh God, Kara." Lena pulled her to her, hugging her shaking body close. "It's gonna be okay."

She said more. She told Kara how capable Alex was, strong, tough. How her training had prepared her. She assured her that Supergirl had Alex' back. In the end, she just held and rocked her, making soothing noises, until Kara's tears dried.

"I'm sorry," Kara whispered, slowly pulling herself out of Lena's arms.

"You have nothing to apologize for, believe me."

Kara tried a smile. "I guess I... just needed to break down for a while."

"I'm glad I could be here for you." Lena pushed a lock of hair out of Kara's face and her hand lingered as she brushed the remnants of tears from her cheeks.

It was such a soft, reassuring touch. Kara would have liked for it to go on longer. She wasn't sure why she'd come here. She could have called Lena to tell her the good news. And she could've gone to James or Mon-El, both were closer friends, but she'd come here.

A Luthor and a Super, as Lena had put it, not just working together, but... being there for each other?

Kara took a deep breath. "Thank you, Lena. I... you're a good friend."

Lena smiled and Kara had to answer it, it was too compelling.

"So are you. I'm glad that Alex is going to be fine."

Kara nodded. She was sure that Alex would be better than fine, after all, she was in love. She wasn't so sure about Supergirl, though. It wasn't easy facing ones limits, but Lena was right, it was good to know there were people who could help, even if Supergirl couldn't.


End file.
